Fort Ord veterans cemetery has extra money if needed

Monterey County's proposed Central Coast State Veterans Cemetery now has a $1 million "insurance policy" to fall back on.

Assembly Speaker John A. Perez has offered to use up to $1 million from a contingency fund to assist the cemetery, if needed, said state Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel.

"This is his expression of ongoing commitment to the project," Monning said. "... It's really kind of an insurance policy, is how I look at it."

Monning stressed that he believed money already allocated for the cemetery in the state budget would be sufficient to get a grant this year, and the money offered by Perez was not "adding another million to the pot."

Many county officials were under the impression Tuesday the cemetery had been given an extra $1 million.

Marina Councilwoman Gail Morton announced at a council meeting on Tuesday the cemetery was getting the extra money and that it was Michael Houlemard, the executive officer of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, who told her at an executive board meeting.

Houlemard said Wednesday he did not explicitly say the cemetery was getting the money, but he had heard of a possible deal being worked out for it from Rep. Sam Farr's office.

Farr spokesman Adam Russell said he didn't think the congressman's office miscommunicated anything or gave inaccurate information, but people may have gotten confused because they have been so excited about the project for so long.

The confusion comes after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a budget that included $1.5 million for the cemetery on Thursday and further legislation to push it forward Friday.

The action was unprecedented because the state had never before offered to allocate money to the historically slow-moving project.

Monning said he believed the $1.5 million was sufficient, unlike the $2.5 million originally discussed by organizers, to qualify for a federal grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Legislation signed at the end of last week ensured the state and cemetery foundation would be paid back.